1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head cleaner having an arm which is equipped with a cleaner head and is retractably swung along the front face of a magnetic head, the cleaner head being slid in contact with the front face of the magnetic head when the magnetic head is cleaned.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this type of magnetic head cleaner, a cleaning work is carried out by operating a cleaner head such as a brush or the like in front of the magnetic head, and it is necessary to keep the cleaner head far away from a magnetic tape (recording medium) disposed on the front face of the magnetic head when a magnetic recording/reproducing operation is carried out.
An arm on which the cleaner head is mounted is designed to be movable along the front face of the magnetic head, and, when the arm is retracted it is guided to the front portion of a magnetic head actuator (head driving mechanism) on which the magnetic head is disposed. Usually, the actuator is disposed below the magnetic head so as to extend beyond the front face of the magnetic head in order to stabilize the head operation and the alignment of the magnetic head in a head driving operation by locating the magnetic head in the neighborhood of the center of gravity of the actuator.
Therefore, the arm of the magnetic head cleaner is located to be shifted to the front side of the frame of the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus because it is required to avoid the extending portion of the actuator when being swung, and thus the cleaner head supporting site of the arm is located far away from the magnetic head. This lowers the wiping action (the cleaning efficiency) of the cleaner in the cleaning operation.
The present invention has been implemented under the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a magnetic head cleaner for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus in which a magnetic head is located in the neighborhood of the center of gravity of a head driving mechanism, in which a holder for the cleaner head is controlled to move toward the front face of the magnetic head when the magnetic head is cleaned and move far away from the front face of the magnetic head when it is retracted, thereby achieving a sufficient wiping action (high cleaning efficiency).
In order to attain the above object, according to the present invention, a magnetic head cleaner having an arm which is equipped with a cleaner head and is retractably swung along the front face of a magnetic head, the cleaner head being slid in contact with the front face of the magnetic head when the magnetic head is cleaned, is characterized in that the arm has a holder of enabling the cleaner head to perform a contact/separate operation to/from the front face of the magnetic head, the holder being operated so that the cleaner head comes into contact with the front face of the magnetic head when the arm is located at the front face of the magnetic head, and being guided so as to be separated from the magnetic head by guide means provided to a frame of a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus at the stage that the arm is retracted from the front face of the magnetic head.
In this case, it is more effective that the holder is pivotally mounted on the arm, the guide means functions to rotate the holder when the guide means guides the holder, the holder is elastically supported on the arm to urge the cleaner head toward the front face of the magnetic head when a cleaning operation is carried out, the arm has a cam which is guided by a bearing movable along the guide of the apparatus frame, and the bearing presses the cam to swing the arm.
According to the present invention, the cleaning work can be performed on the magnetic head with a high wiping efficiency. In addition, after the cleaning work, the cleaner head (brush) and the holder therefor are separated from the magnetic head, and the arm of the magnetic head cleaner for moving the holder can be retracted without interfering in other constituent parts such as the driving mechanism of the magnetic head, etc.